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REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 of late. I &M is also to be commended for the expansion of their solar panel fields. It is a good start but unfortunately as of now it is not enough. We originally wanted to have this resolution call for the closure of the Rockport Coal Plant. It was a democratic process and we didn't get that, but it does need to be closed. Rockport provides almost half of the power for the I &M territory and faces incredibly high costs to keep it open and clean up the plant. It is the second largest polluter in Indiana in terms of carbon emissions and the sixth largest polluter nationwide of toxic pollutants. Mr. Francis expressed particular support for the "exhibit" portion of the resolution which illustrates things that the City can explore in moving us to become a cleaner city. Christopher Cobb, 215 E. Pokagon Street South Bend, expressed thanks to the Utilities Committee for their hard work on this resolution. This is a great document and it is great to see the Council taking seriously the need for forward thinking policy. The work on this resolution made a solid document that addresses not only issues of power generation but also social justice and the cost of energy. It is an extremely well- designed resolution and South Bend is demonstrating leadership in our state. This is the kind of City we can all be proud to call home. This comes at a wonderful time to make sure I &M, our public utility, stays accountable to the public it serves. Dr. Phil Sakimoto, professor at the University of Notre Dame in sustainability and astrophysics, stated prior to working at Notre Dame he worked at NASA where he was the manager of their public outreach program. It has been his job for many years to interpret current research for the public. He stated the recent tremendous floods that South Bend received were not a natural disaster. Those floods were an unnatural disaster caused by the fact that we continue to use fossil fuels and cause our planet to get warmer. Warmer air holds more moisture so when the rains come there is more to dump on us. As our globe warms, it is not uniform. The artic regions are warming at twice the rate of the equatorial regions. The difference in temperature between the equator and North Pole has lessened and the jet stream is getting weaker. In the old days, the jet stream would have pushed that storm on in a few hours but it is now too weak to do that. That is why the storm lingered for so long and that is why we had flooding. With our warming climate we can only expect more of that. We need to stop putting more carbon in the air. He commended the Council for this resolution. For every ten (10) years we delay carbon reduction measures the peak temperature will be half a degree centigrade higher. This is a great start but it's not enough. We have to take bigger actions and hopefully this resolution is the beginning of moving our community towards zero (0) carbon emissions. We need to do this for our children so they have a livable planet. Carolyn Haas, 606 North Saint Peter Street South Bend IN, stated she is a student at the University of Notre Dame and is speaking on behalf of hundreds of ND students and also Fossil Free Notre Dame which is a campaign urging ND to divest its endowment to remove itself from fossil fuels consumption. She stated she is so pleased to attend a university with such a supportive community in regards to sustainability measures. The office of sustainability at Notre Dame has failed the community. It is wonderful to see South Bend respecting the voices of the community while Notre Dame has not. Meghan Anderson, 1100 West 42nd Street Indianapolis, stated she is a conservation activist with the Sierra Club and is thankful to see such leadership coming from South Bend. This is a strong signal to our utilities to move away from coal and develop cleaner energy. We know it is cheaper to retire coal in the long term. Ms. Anderson stated she will share this resolution in Fort Wayne and Muncie where she also works. The more renewable energy we have in the area I &M serves, the more jobs for local people. No one from the public spoke against the resolution. Councilmember Randy Kelly commended Councilmembers Dr. Varner and Davis for taking this issue on. Anytime we get two (2) disparate groups to come together, we are doing an admirable thing. This is a wonderful first step and it is time for bold moves forward. South Bend can be a leader in this work. Councilmember Broden stated she echoed Councilmember Kelly's opinion. 7